When Benjamin Franklin discovered electricity in 1752, the notion of automobiles did not even glimmer in his brilliant mind.
The minds behind the Ohio State EcoCAR team, however, are using the power of electricity on the concept vehicle being designed for their national competition.
Last week was an important period for this group, as they were visited by a vital sponsor in addition to being awarded first place in one of the several contests involved in the competition.
EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge, sponsored by General Motors, gives 16 institutions across the country the task of redesigning a company-donated vehicle into a hybrid automobile. The 30-person OSU crew is engineering a car powered by both electric and ethanol engines in an effort to decrease emissions and fuel consumption.
Competition sponsor Snap-On paid a visit to the Center for Automotive Research Friday to present the team with a tool kit, which features insulated tools that will be essential in working with the electric components in the group’s concept car.
The crew was also awarded first place for its efforts in designing a Hardware-in-the-Loop system at the EcoCAR Winter Workshop in Florida in early January.
An HIL system is crucial for running simulations of the vehicle and testing faults without putting anyone in danger, said team leader Eric Schacht.
Schacht is able to use a real controller to test the vehicle instead of a computer simulation using the team’s HIL design. That way, before the car is built, the group will know the controllers for the vehicle really work.
The OSU EcoCAR’s two electric engines, combined with a third engine that runs on ethanol, will allow the vehicle to run in different ways.
“You can drive with just electric power, you can drive with the engine providing electricity, or you can run straight off the engine and be boosted by the electric motors,” said Schacht. “When the car runs out of battery, the engine will provide power.”
The Snap-On representatives were met by several team leaders on the EcoCAR project and given a tour of the center prior to the presentation.
“It’s really important to us that younger people are understanding our brand. That’s one of the reasons we got interested in the EcoCAR challenge,” said Ben Brenton, chief innovation officer at Snap-on.
“We’re trying to make sure we have a better relationship with the people who build and design cars so we can make better tools,” he said.
Although the OSU team already had a supply of tools on hand with which to begin the project, those included with the Snap-On toolbox provide an added dimension, said team leader Beth Bezaire, a second-year masters student in mechanical engineering.
“In addition to the tools being insulated and protected, the tools are orange, and bright orange designates high voltage,” said Bezaire. “Usually we take whatever tool we’re designating as our high voltage tool and wrap it in orange electrical tape.”
The team’s next competition will take place in May, when the car is shipped to the GM track testing facility in Yuma, Ariz. Schacht and his crew say they are on schedule, and will be ready to compete in the spring.
